2016 Administration Department Annual Report

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2016 Annual Report • Administration • St. Anthony Village, Minnesota 30 Data Practices Act Training All cities are required to comply with the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MGDPA). It also applies to other governmental entities, including planning commissions, advisory boards, HRAs, EDAs, etc. The Act regulates collection, creation, storage, maintenance, dissemination, and access to government data. The Act seeks to balance three principles: • Government’s need to have data to do its work • The need to maintain an accountable and transparent government • The need to protect individual privacy rights. Government data is defined as all data collected, created, received, maintained or disseminated by any government entity regardless of its physical form, storage media or conditions of use. This means data regulated by the MGDPA is not just the paper files at city hall, but include computerized files, e-mails, photographs, charts, maps, videotapes, audio-tapes, and even handwritten notes and working documents. Representatives from the League of Minnesota Cities provided staff refresher training on the Act and how it applies to the day-to-day operations of the City of St. Anthony. Employee Identifications Every 5 years, the City reissues employee identifcation cards to all employees. This helps ensure that all staff are identifiable on-site, or off- site in the course of their work day. They are important when staff need proof of employment when making purchases for the City, and the identification cards also greatly assist in the case of an emergency, in order to quickly identify City staff. In 2016, all department cards were redesigned to distinguish them from the existing cards. Roughly half of the staff received reissued identification cards, and the other half will be reissued early in 2017. This will help in the next round of reissuing so the entire staff does not need to be reissued identification cards all at the same time.